Michael Rogers shows off his Specialized Shiv time trial bike for the Giro

The Giro d’Italia got underway yesterday with the first stage a team time trial, and Tinkoff-Saxo rider Michael Rogers was proudly showing off his Specialized Shiv TT bike on Twitter. The bike is decked out with SRAM RED including a massive aero chainring, Zipp time trial extension bars and a stumpy Prologo TT-specific saddle. Wheels are a Zipp 808 on the front and disc on the rear. Looks fast, should be fast.

British designed Sugoi jerseys released

Canadian brand Sugoi have added two new jerseys to their range which have been designed in the UK, including the La Tourne and Mod jersey - you can guess where that one has drawn its inspiration…

Both are made from a FinoTech moisture wicking and breathable fabric with a front zipper and three rear pockets, and available in sizes S-XL. They each cost £59.99

Fizik video demonstrates their Spine Concept

Five years ago Fizik introduced their SPine Concept to make it easier choosing the right saddle. If you were a Snake, Chameleon or Bull, you would choose the Arione, Antares or Aliante respectively. More recently they’ve added handlebars to their range, and they’re using the same Spine Concept to divide up the different shapes they offer.

This video makes it a little easier to see exactly which you need.

OnYerBikeSeat.com launch Giro D' Italia Commemorative Seat Cover

OnYerBikeSeat.com have launched an Italian themed seat cover in time for the start of the Giro d’Italia. With the forecast weather it could come in useful for the racers.

This is also the company’s first saddle cover that rolls up into its own pouch, so when you’re not using it as a saddle cover, it can easily be stored away somewhere convenient. It’s made from waterproof coated nylon fabric with an elasticated hem to secure it over the saddle.It costs £4.99 and is available now.

Quarq Power Meter now available as cranksets only

Quarq are now offering SRAM RED 22, Quarq ELSA and Quarq RIKEN power meters as just cranksets, allowing you to add aftermarket chainrings of your choice, offering a bit more flexibility. You can easily now choose 10 or 11-speed, and even a single ring setup for cyclocross.

So pick up a Quarq RIKEN R crankset and add some chainrings and you’re looking at a total price of £1,035. That’s certainly a bit cheaper than they used to be, and makes them more competitive with the increasing choice of power meters now on the market.

Women’s Tour replica jersey

If you’ve been watching the inaugural Women’s Tour you might be interested to know that you can now lay your hands on replica jerseys. Produced by Provision Clothing, these include the Strava Mountains jersey, Friends Like Yellow jersey, Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research jersey and the Yodel Direct jersey. Each costs £40 and each is available in loads of sizes for men and women.

Dymag offer special promotion on its wheels

Dymag are offering a special promotion on their wheels to mark the launch of a new cycle team, and will donate a percentage of sales to a diabetes research charity. For every set of cycle wheels sold through the company’s website, Dymag will donate £10 to the type 1 diabetes charity JDRF who also sponsor the cycle team.

The cycle team, headed up by veteran Ian Rees, is aiming to be the first all type 1 diabetes team in road cycling. Many of the team members, including Ian, have type 1 diabetes and his goal is to raise awareness of the condition and how it can be improved through leading an active life.

Some examples of the deals available include a 24 to 60mm rim on n DT Swiss Hubs and Sapim CX-Ray Aero Spokes down to £1,200 from £1,600, a nice £400 saving.The same rims on Hope hubs cost £999 now, down from £1,200.

Custom Fizik shoes for Thomas Dekker

Fizik roll out some more custom shoes at the Giro d’Italia, this time for Garmin-Sharp rider Thomas Dekker. So It's not just David Millar who is getting all the Fizik custom shoe love.

Specialized ‘Colour Dipped’ range soon to launch in UK

Specialized have unveiled a new Colour Dipped range of matching yellow shoes, helmets and socks, that will be available soon. It’s a limited edition range, with three colours to be made available for one month only at a time.

No they haven't, started out like that on the RAAM but the team is classed as all diabetic so they have racers with type 2 as well. Still bloody impressive if you ask me though

Actually on Team Novo Nordisk the Pro Men's, Development, Junior and Women's teams are all type 1. So technically it is an all Type-1 PRO team, as the Type 2 team is separate. No racers in the pro team racing the UCI races like the Tour of Turkey are type 2.

It would be great to see Dymag-T1D take off though - to have two top-level all-diabetic teams would be amazing!